


Forest spring

by WhispersWrites



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-04-12
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:53:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1176084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhispersWrites/pseuds/WhispersWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A romance fanfic about Tauriel and Thranduil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a long day, several of the patrols had been problematic, and Tauriel was feeling tired, stressed and slightly aggravated even before being summoned to be received by the king. Upon entry into the audience chamber, in which she was sometimes called to report, she saw that king Thranduil was already waiting on his throne. His facial expression was one of stern bemusement, and Tauriel knew that the odds of this encounter turning out well were stacked against her. 

“So, what report do you have for me today captain?” his voice was calm and even, but Tauriel, having some knowledge of the king’s moods, could feel the sting behind the words. It was clear that he had heard a thing or two about the events of the day, but would prefer to hear about it directly from her. “The disease in the forest my lord, it is spreading. The goblins and spiders are getting bolder by the minute, and the uneasiness in the air is increasing. We have been subject to several sneak attacks today, and I fear that this is just the beginning of something bigger. I believe that it is time we do something about these threats.” His eyes narrowed, and she could see his jaw starting to clench. “What would you have me do? Send the guards out on a doomed mission, and risk the safety of my people? We are not fools Tauriel, a decision like this cannot be rushed.” 

These words were not well received by the captain, she had heard his excuses before, and time and time again the king had spoken about holding back, staying on the defensive and thinking things through. She knew what this meant; it meant that nothing would happen because the king was unwilling to see the truth in what she was telling him. This discussion was one they had revisited several times and every single time it had ended badly. 

The argument quickly heated up, as it was wont to, but today was different. Tauriel had reached a limit this day, she was not afraid of anything the king could do to her. All she wanted was to get through to him, to make him see that her plan of action was the only reasonable measure to be taken during the circumstances. At some point the king got up from his seat, they were both yelling at each other, and now he stood towering over her. This tall statuesque figure, with his face like stone, and his blue eyes like flashing glaciers, would be enough to petrify anyone. His powerful voice cutting through the air like a newly sharpened blade, but Tauriel stood her ground. Defiantly refusing to back down, the words she hurled at him were well targeted and they stung like bees, but still he would not listen. 

Tauriel could feel the anger and passion within her building to a whole new level until, for a moment, her anger blinded her. She didn’t care that he was her king, for a second she lost control of herself. Her sight got blurry, as did her thoughts. She forcefully put her hands around his neck, pulled him close and kissed him long and hard. When she let go of him they both stood baffled, looking at each other for a fraction of a second. Thranduil was perplexed; she could see it in his eyes. Tauriel was no less confused, what had she just done? 

That thought was the only one that had time to cross her mind, and she had no time to prepare for his reaction. He grabbed her hair and put one of his strong arms around her waist as he pulled her closer. As sudden as the flash of an arrow his lips were on hers again, soft and warm, but demanding. She felt her heart quicken as she returned his kiss and pressed against his lean muscular body. Her lips parted to let his tongue enter, and she could feel her urges rising. She wanted him, no she needed him. Right there right then, on the floor, on the table, up against the wall, it didn’t matter. As they broke away from the kiss for a second she could see the same passion in his face. It was like a steel blue flame had awakened in his eyes, a crooked smile crossed his lips. With his arm around her waist pulling her close to him he used his other hand to push her hair away from her neck as he started roughly kissing and exploring the soft skin. She let out a soft sound as his hand entered her bodice, and he caressed her breasts. 

Then, quick as a cat he withdrew his hand and let her go. She had also heard the sound of someone’s hand on the door, but dazed as she was her reflexes weren’t as quick as the king’s. They barely had time to straighten up and regain some distance between them before one of the guards entered. ‘’Captain, you are needed,’’ the guard did not seem to notice how flushed she was, and the king’s face had returned to an impenetrable enigmatic mask. Tauriel felt a wave of relief come over her, it was such a lucky thing they hadn’t been caught. She could not bear to think about what would have happened if someone had seen them, a simple silvan elf with the king of the woodland realm. What had they been thinking, doing something so senseless and stupid?

She gave a quick curt bow as she was dismissed from the king’s presence, and hurriedly followed the guard. The two elves padded quickly and almost soundlessly down the halls, Tauriel wondered what was so important that she had been summoned away from the king. In addition what had just happened in the audience room was spinning in her head. ‘’My captain,’’ the guard’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and back into the present. ‘’You seem quite flushed and distracted, is all well?’’ 

Oh no, he had picked up on her strange mood and behaviour. She did the only thing she could do, she kept calm and lied, ‘’yes, it has just been a long day, and the day’s report to the king did not go very well.’’ The guard nodded ‘’very well then, I do apologise if I was out of line.’’ Right now the last thing she wanted to deal with was niceties and polite chit-chat. ‘’So, where is it you are taking me?’’ they were not going the route to the guard’s lounges, so she genuinely didn’t know where they could be going. ‘’To the stables sir’’ he replied, but he wouldn’t say anything more. This was getting exceedingly strange she thought to herself, keeping on guard with all her senses at the ready.  
Upon entering the stables she saw the king’s son, and her closest friend Legolas. ‘’My prince’’ she said questioningly as she bowed before him “why have I been brought here?” Legolas looked at her with an innocent look on his face. “Tauriel, we are friends, there is no need for you to bow, or address me thusly. I called you here because it seemed like your fight with the king was getting a little bit out of hand this time. I just thought I would sweep in and save you.”

Never had a well meant gesture made her so mad before, but she couldn’t let Legolas discover that something other than fighting had been going on between her and the king. “I didn’t need to be saved” she answered lightly. “Allright, my mistake” he countered with an apologetic smile “I also wanted to see if you wanted to go for a ride.”

Legolas knew that she loved the freedom of going out for a ride with no set destination, just galloping around in the forest. “Is something wrong?” he asked when she didn’t immediately jump at the offer. He knew her too well not to notice that something was a bit off. She was tired, and she had things she needed to think about, but on the other hand a ride might do her some good. It might even help her clear her mind. She decided in an instant that it was in fact the perfect time for a ride. “Let’s go!” she said with a smile as she jumped up on the ready saddled chestnut gelding Legolas was holding. In a smooth leap he mounted his grey mare, and they took off towards the main gate.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride with Legolas earlier had kept her distracted and her mind had felt clear again. But that was then, now all by herself in her quarters she could feel herself slipping back into thoughts of what had happened between herself and king Thranduil. It was all very confusing, she hadn’t even known that she was attracted to the king before that day, and he had never shown her favour in that way before. 

She was tossing and turning in her bed trying to get some rest. After a while she decided that it would do her no god to lie around, so she decided to go to the rock pools. They were on the higher levels of the halls, somehow rays of light stole their way down from the world above and into this one space. Tauriel’s favourite time to visit the pools was at night, the dim light from the stars did not make its way down there, but there was still the moon. She found the pale blue light soothing, and it had helped her out many times before.

It seemed to Tauriel that her entire energy changed on approaching the still waters. She felt all her worries and confusion lift from her for a while, like being unburdened from a heavy cloak. Briefly she saw a flutter of fabric in the distance, she was not alone. The pools were a popular place to go wandering in the evenings, so she was not surprised to find that there was someone else there. 

For a while she walked aimlessly around, letting her thoughts wander. She listened to the slight trickle of water where it entered the pools at the mouth of the cave. She felt the faint breeze gently caressing her skin, and she felt at peace. After a while her train of thought was broken, as she suddenly found herself quite close to the other elf. As she got closer, she realised that she recognised the shape in the shadows before her. How could she not? 

The tall elegant figure before her could belong to no other. Even in the dim light she could see the shimmer of his long luxurious robes. Her heart started pounding nervously, what should she do? She had never seen him here before, but he did not seem unfamiliar with the space. In some way it even seemed that he fit in here even more than in the rest of the realm.

She decided to approach him, her footfalls were soft, but she expected he could hear her still. Eager to clear things up she came closer to him, the king did not turn. “My lord” she breathed, almost afraid that she would break this spell that was upon them if she spoke any louder. There was no reaction, so she stepped out in front of him. The scattered rays of moonlight made his long blonde hair shine silver, like a raindrop fallen in a long summer night. His thick dark eyebrows lowered as if he was in a state of deep concentration. 

The draft that had felt nice and welcoming only a minute ago now made her feel cold and hollow, she shivered. Thranduil was looking right at her, his face stiff like a mask, but he couldn’t mask the pain in his eyes, he was now like a shell of the beautiful strong Thranduil. His eyes were looking straight through her like she wasn’t even there, like nothing really was. 

At that moment he was lost to the world, the darkness inside him had taken him far, far away from her. At that moment Tauriel knew there was nothing she could do for him, still all she wanted to do was caress him, and take the lines of anguish from his face. And so she begrudgingly left him to his thoughts, bathed in the cold light of the moon.

Her quarters were quiet and empty, just like she had left them. The table with a half-empty pitcher of water on it, her messy bed and strictly organised closets, were all silently welcoming her back. She decided to rest for a while, and now the hard bed and rich covers actually seemed welcoming to her. Before she went to bed, she removed her dress, folded it up and put it on the stool in the corner across from the bed, ready to be picked up for washing in the morning. 

She rose with the break of dawn and went straight to the training grounds. As usual she was the first one there, she liked arriving a while before everyone else and have some time by herself. Today she was especially happy to have some time to release her tensions before having to be around anyone. By the time Legolas arrived a short while later, she had already mangled three practice dummies. He gave her a crooked look, but didn’t ask any questions. 

As the part of the guard she was training had yet to arrive they decided to have a duel. Both skilled fighters, the tempo was high. To a bystander the footwork alone would be likely to leave you speechless. In contrast to their training swords Tauriel’s mind was sharp as a warg’s teeth. She was enjoying herself so much that she didn’t notice that the company had arrived. Legolas either didn’t notice, or decided to take no heed of them. For a second Tauriel was distracted by a fleeting thought that crossed her mind, she couldn’t even grasp it before it was gone. This error kept her distracted just long enough for her foot to falter, bringing them both slamming to the ground. In the landing her own sword smashed into her forehead. She could feel from the thumping in her head that she was probably bleeding. Legolas got up, and gave her a hand. “Don’t think that we are finished yet,” she mumbled, she had never been bested by the prince, and today was most certainly not going to be the day. Two minutes later she was sitting on top of him, with her sword to his throat as he surrendered. 

After the training drills she sent out the midday patrol, and she was about to debrief the last patrol coming back when she was called to attend the king. On the way there she was wondering what he wanted this time. She didn’t have anything new to tell him, but on the other hand she felt a strange excitement at the prospect of seeing him again. 

She was taken to the audience chamber again, and there he was sitting on the throne, looking his normal self. “You called for me my lord,” she said in a questioning tone. “I wanted to talk to you about yesterday,” he replied. She wasn’t sure what about yesterday he wanted to speak with her about, the episode in this very room, or the one by the pools. “Please do go on,” her answer was short and neutral. “I know what you saw last night, and I would prefer it if it was kept between the two of us.” His voice was even as he uttered the words, but she could sense that there was something more behind. “Of course my lord, I would never break your confidence” her response was heartfelt, she would never as much as think of betraying his words or actions to anyone. 

“I knew I could trust you captain,” the king said with a faint smile, Tauriel could almost see the relief washing over him. She smiled back at him, and wished that they were not attended so she could kiss him again. She was still not sure what was going on between them, and she looked at him questioningly, was he thinking the same? “I have some business to attend to, but I will need your council later on captain, I will send someone for you this evening.” Thranduil answered the question that had not yet entered her mouth. Or so she thought anyway. Subsequently she was excused and went back to her quarters.


	3. Chapter 3

For her meeting with Thranduil, Tauriel wanted to pick a beautiful dress and do something special with her hair, but she knew she couldn’t. That would be like screaming out loud that there was something going on between her and the king. Not only would that be inappropriate, there was also a risk that she had completely misunderstood what the king had meant. 

So when the guard came to bring her to the audience room she was dressed just as she was before, with her long unruly hair slightly dishevelled, and with a scratch on her forehead. The guard did not, as she had expected, take her to the audience chamber. He instead took her to king Thranduil’s personal chambers. She had only been to the king’s chambers once before and that was when she was quite young and then she was in the company of Legolas.

When they entered the front room of the chambers Thranduil was nowhere to be seen, this left Tauriel a little confused. The guard told her to wait for the king in the front room before he excused himself and left. Tauriel made herself comfortable on one of the luxurious couches close to the door, and for a few minutes she was left there to her own devices. 

The sound of the door opening was almost inaudible, but she instinctively turned towards it. Her heart made a jump in her chest as he entered the room. She rose from her seat as he approached her “Tauriel,” the soft tone in which he uttered it made her own name seem unfamiliar to her. “My lord,” she replied with a nod of her head. He put his hand under her chin and gently urged her to look at him “that is Thranduil to you,” he murmured “Thranduil,” she repeated in a whisper. His name felt so nice in her mouth. 

He smiled a crooked smile, and all she wanted was to kiss him. She went up on her tiptoes and gently placed her hand on his cheek. He leaned down and their lips met as she pulled his face closer. He answered by kissing her deeply and passionately, one of his hands sliding down to rest on her lower back, the other entwined in her long hair. When the kiss ended he leaned ever closer and whispered in her ear even though they were completely alone “come to my bed.” It was uttered as a question, even though the confidence in his voice told her that he already knew what the answer would be. 

Halfway entwined in each other and breathlessly between kisses they stumbled into Thranduil’s bedchamber. The large bedchamber was dominated by the majestic and elaborately carved bed. There were numerous artefacts taking up the main part of the shelf space and wall space in the room. On and around the sizeable table were disorganised piles of ancient looking books and scrolls. 

They continued, lips locked together as by a mithril chain, she wished he would never let go. But he did let go, and in a fluid movement he was behind her, his arms around her waist. She cocked her head as he kissed his way down her neck towards her, yet to be exposed, cleavage. His lips fell to rest on her collarbone for a moment as his nimble experienced fingers started unlacing her corset. After unlacing it he recklessly tore it off and threw it to the ground. As the supple leather fell to the floor she turned around to face him. She pushed her body against his and kissed him greedily, before slowly opening his tunic. Brushing her fingers down his chest, feeling every inch of his soft warm skin as she uncovered more and more of him. 

She sent him a mischievous look as she pushed his cape and tunic off his shoulders and let them fall to the ground.  
The sparkling silvery fabric hit the floor in soft waves, like a shimmering meteor storm. Tauriel stepped back to behold her king’s exposed chest and midriff, she felt a tingling sensation run down her spine as she took in his body. 

She kicked off her boots, they ended up in the mess of books and scrolls in the corner, but none of them paid that any mind under the current circumstances. Standing like this a couple of feet from Thranduil’s slender muscular body, Tauriel let her dress fall to the floor. Without hesitation she did this, and without a second thought. She could hear his sharp intake of breath as she stepped out of the bundle that was her dress, and stood before him in all her naked beauty. 

He kicked off his boots before taking one long fluid step towards her and picking her up from the floor, he held her and kissed her in his bottomless desire carrying her towards the bed. They both fell on the bed all tangled up in each other. In a flash he had removed his last piece of clothing, she caught him out of balance and pushed him onto his back. She looked down at him with a twinkle in her eye as she straddled his hips for a second before he flipped her over on her back and took charge. 

He picked up where he had left off earlier, kissing his way down her body. It was clear that he knew what he was doing and that he was going to be thorough about it. She could feel her body yearning for him, and she was already ready for him, but Thranduil was intent on taking his time. Kissing her breast he took her left nipple in his mouth and massaged it with circular movements of his tongue until it was hard. Subsequently he repeated the same to her other nipple, her hands extending and contracting on his back. She could feel herself getting shorter of breath as her lust for him increased. 

She felt a sweet tingling sensation when he kissed the inside of her upper thigh, and she could not hold back a small gasp. He looked up at her, and she could see that he was really pleased with the effect he was having on her. Then two of his fingers started tracing unknowable patterns around the spot between her legs. All her senses went fuzzy as the lust almost drove her mad, she pressed herself against his fingers and begged him to enter her. 

When she had almost reached her breaking point he granted her wish, it all felt even better with him inside her and on top of her. He started thrusting and they got into an ever increasing rhythm, driving themselves seemingly towards the edge of a cliff. She could feel her nails digging into his muscular back as she reached the top. She saw the sky opening before her as she felt her body arching up to meet his. She moaned his name repeatedly as she got her release, her body pulsing against his. 

But he was not finished yet, he kept thrusting in an increasing tempo until she pushed her hands against him and they rolled over, leaving her on top again. She held him down with both her hands on his broad chest as she started her own rhythm. 

Sitting astride him she started a dance as she tilted and circled her hips. As she rode him, Thranduil had his hands on her hips, taking in every detail of her movements. He let out a soft moan, and she could see a flickering flame in his eyes. In that moment Tauriel felt a surge of power that she was the one able to bring this kind of passion and pleasure to the otherwise cold king. 

She could feel the increasing tension in his body as he got closer to his climax and it turned her on, bringing her too higher and higher towards a second release. She could see him taking in the whole of her slim figure as he looked up at her with dazed eyes. 

When he was almost all the way there he murmured her name and that made her heart beat even harder, when he reached the top he brought her with him over the edge. Loudly moaning each other’s names they took no heed of the world outside, in this moment there was nothing but them in the whole wide world. 

Afterwards, to the chorus of their ragged breaths they lay for a while in stillness, her head resting on his chest. He had one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. He seemed more peaceful than she had ever seen him before, and she understood, nothing had ever felt so right to her before.


	4. Chapter 4

Too soon, Tauriel realised that she had been in Thranduil’s chambers for quite a while. It was about time she left to go back to her own chambers, to prevent any suspicion from the other elves. “I should go,” she said reculantly, “no, you should stay” Thranduil replied with a smug look. She snuggled up closer to him, intending to give him a quick kiss. The small kiss turned into a deep passionate kiss, then one, two, three smaller kisses before she pulled back. “No, I really need to go now,” leaving was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment, and pulling herself away from him took a great amount of willpower. 

She sat up and reached for her dress, “Tauriel,” he uttered with a steady voice, she turned her head. “I order you to stay,” he challenged her, raising one of his dark eyebrows. She looked at him and shook her head slowly “with all due respect my lord. I’m off duty, so you cannot tell me what to do.” He smiled at her with an enigmatic look on his face “I guess not.” 

She put her clothes on and went over to the pile of books where she thought her boots had landed, and started rummaging around. One of Thranduil’s boots had landed in the same pile, and she threw it towards the bed. The breath almost caught in her throat, and her heart started pounding as she turned and blurted out “so what is this?” She could feel the blood pulsing and pumping through her body, and the short time it took for him to answer felt like an eternity. 

“Something real,” he replied, “the nature of which we have yet to discover.” She turned back to continue the search for her boots, she got a hold of one and yanked it out, freeing the second one. She presumed that meant that he was almost as clueless as her about what they were doing. Tauriel could feel his eyes on her back as she put on her boots, she sensed the silence breathing down her neck. She didn’t know what to say next, she glanced at him. He was sat up, his bare skin was almost glowing in the dim light. He smiled at her “we have all the time in the world to decide what we want to make of it.” 

She expected that the last comment was the closest they were going to get to an answer for a while, and she told herself that she was ok with that. It was not as if she knew where she wanted this to go either. She went over and kissed him softly before leaving, he looked into her eyes, and what she saw within the vast blue fields of his eyes reassured her. 

Walking down the paths and corridors leading to her own quarters, Tauriel tried not to think about what had happened between herself and Thranduil. She didn’t want to blush and tip people off, she met quite a few elves on her way home, but no one seemed to notice anything different about her. She guessed that was because she acted just like she would on any ordinary evening, but she still felt completely different than she did earlier the same day. She felt like she had changed somehow, but it was probably just her tired mind talking. 

When she got home she lay on her bed with a thousand questions flying through her mind, and she could feel a smile widening on her face as she thought about Thranduil and their very physical meeting.

The next day was cloudy, the wind was blowing softly and the air was heavy like a wet blanket. Tauriel was patrolling the forest with a few of her trusted guards. They kept within quite close distance, but in the overgrown forest they were still out of sight of each other. The guard was not a great priority that day because many elves were needed to prepare for the autumn party the next evening, and so they had to spread out to cover as much ground as possible between them. 

They were not in a high risk area of the forest, but Tauriel was watchful as ever. She heard the goblins behind her, before they even noticed her. There were four of them, she should be able to take them all down by herself, but she expected the noise would bring the other elves there within a short period of time. She decided to sneak up on them and take them all down by alone. She smiled to herself, it had been a while since she had this kind of sport. 

Quick as a squirrel she scaled the tree closest to her, the trampling of the goblins still showed no sign of hesitation. As soon as they were below her tree, she jumped down and in the process stabbed the first goblin clear through the neck. In the confusion she managed to lodge her knife deep into the chest of the second goblin, almost before the first one had hit the ground. The third and fourth one were a different matter completely. They ganged up on her, and she had a hard fight. Her adrenaline was pumping, she hadn’t had a fight like this for a long time.

One goblin was substantially larger than the others, and when she finally managed to stab the smaller one in the eye, he lifted her up. One of her knives was still stuck in the last goblin, and the second one she lost as the large goblin hurled her into a large tree trunk. “Not so tough now little elf-maid?” the goblin snarled at her, as he held her down against the tree by her throat. “Such a pretty little elf,” he continued. She was wondering why he didn’t just kill her there and then and get it over with. 

The grotesque smile on his face told her that he was probably going to tell her presently. “I remember your parents,” he almost purred with his raspy voice, “you look a lot like them.” The words hit her like being trampled by a herd of wild horses. She knew that her parents had been captured and tortured by goblins when she was young. They had not survived, and she had lived most of her life with a hollow part inside her from missing them. The knife was just out of reach of her fingers, she stretched her arm as much as she could, but she was unable to do anything more than touching it. “It was my pleasure making their last hours in this world a true nightmare,” the goblin continued, gloating over his gruesome actions.

Tauriel felt like a claw of anger was gripping her heart, so close to being killed by this vile being, and all she could feel was rage. He took out a knife, and cut a deep, long gash into her right shoulder and arm. She felt the burning pain like being scratched by a million small sharp claws, but she would not let him get the reaction he was hoping for. She spit in his face, he growled and was distracted for a millisecond. 

That was all she needed, the goblin’s distraction allowed her to stretch her arm about a centimetre closer to the knife. She managed to grab a hold of the end of the knife and pull it towards her. With a lightning-swift movement she lodged her knife deep into the goblin’s neck. His eyes went big in wonderment, before he started sputtering up blood. She pushed him off her and got up, it was not until then that she noticed the amount of blood pumping from the gash in her arm. She cursed under her breath, before she went over to collect her second dagger. 

At that same moment the rest of the party arrived. They looked as if they wanted her to explain why she chose to take down four goblins by herself, when one of them noticed her injury. After that it all happened in quick succession, the group split to continue their patrol, while one of the others stayed with Tauriel to take her home. She tried to insist on going home by herself so the party would be less compromised, but the other elf would not budge. 

When they were almost at the gate Tauriel started to feel a little faint from the blood loss, but she kept it to herself. Once they approached the gate she sent the other elf away. The guards at the gate were stunned by the sight of her injury, but she just brushed them off claiming to be ok. Once she entered, she had to stop and lean against a pillar for a while, to gather strength to make it all the way to the healer. 

The healer was more than impressed that Tauriel had made it all that way by herself while bleeding profusely, she was not surprised though, as she was familiar with the stubbornness of the captain. The wound was quite serious, and Tauriel was asked to use the arm sparingly the next two days while the healing process finished. What bothered Tauriel was of course not the wound, or the blood loss. 

Outside she met Legolas, “I heard that you had been injured,” he stated with a worried look when she raised her eyebrows at him. “And the king wants to see you in the throne room for a report” he continued. “I won’t be seeing the king,” she replied, “I don’t feel like I can manage an official report right now.” 

Legolas walked her home, and she told him all that had happened with the goblin earlier. He was very understanding, and promised to bring her apologies to the king. Tauriel felt a little better after sharing the whole experience with her best friend. “Are you sure that you will be fine, and that there’s nothing you need,” he enquired for the third time before going. “It’s ok,” she replied, “really.” Then Legolas took his leave and she was left by herself to try and work through the whole event. 

Consumed with the ripples of feelings, and thoughts from the event earlier, Tauriel lost all track of time. When there was a knock at her door she was awakened like from some sort of trance, finding herself on her bed. She felt completely empty inside, and her arm was throbbing. Her mind was unfocused like it was filled with buzzing bees, and she had no clue who could be at her door, or why they would be there. 

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, before she went to get the door. For a brief second, she didn’t recognize the hooded figure in the doorway. It took a second look before she saw that it was in fact king Thranduil in a disguise. He straightened up and swept the cape off, as she closed the door.   
“What are you doing here?” she asked, absolutely perplexed. “Legolas told me you were having a hard time,” he replied softly, “I thought you might want me here.” Truth be told, it felt good that Thranduil had come for her, even though she would never have asked him to. 

Again she opened up, and she told him the entire story. After she finished, she saw some of her own pain reflected in his eyes, “your parents were extraordinary, I still mourn their passing.” Then he held her, and they stood completely still just holding each other for a long time. 

Then they crawled into her bed. Even though she had been told to rest, she doubted that she would get any sleep. She tried closing her eyes, she could feel Thranduil’s strong arms around her. She could feel the rhythm of his breathing, and somehow it had a soothing effect on her. She didn’t notice when she fell asleep, she didn’t notice how Thranduil stayed with her all night, unwavering and awake. She didn’t notice him leaving right before dawn, or the soft kiss he planted on her forehead before he did so. The only thing she noticed was a flower from his crown that he had left on her bedside table.


	5. Chapter 5

The day went by as if in a daze, Tauriel did all her duties, but she somehow felt disconnected from it all. The others, who knew parts of what had happened the day before, attributed her unusual behaviour to the fact that she was still healing from her wound. Maybe some of it was in fact due to the wound, Tauriel wasn’t sure herself. She was happy and grateful that they left her to do her job, without any questions though. It was so much easier for her not to have to explain herself, and her feelings to everyone. She preferred to stay quite private, except when in company with her few close friends. 

Today was the autumn party, and after some consideration Tauriel decided to go. At the beginning of every season there would be a celebration, and the king would don a new crown representing the season. There would be celebrations, wine and dancing. Maybe the party would get her mind off things, it was not as if there was anything she could do about what bothered her. Her parents were dead, and so was the goblin. All she could do was to try to cheer herself up. 

For the occasion, she decided to wear a flowing robe the colour of autumn leaves. She wore the same necklace that she would always wear, and on the left shoulder of the dress she fastened a pin. The pin was made in the likeness of a tree, with little white gems sparling like stars between the leaves. She didn’t need to see her reflection to know that she looked absolutely stunning, she felt good, and that alone made an improvement to her mood. 

She walked down towards the great hall, where the banquet, wine and dancing would take place. Already from far off she could hear the sounds of the festivities going on. When she arrived at the hall, she walked along one of the edges of the room until she got to a free seat on one of the benches. She sat down in a spot where she had some room around her, she needed some wine and some time to warm up to the party. 

“You look beautiful tonight,” Legolas dumped down on the bench beside her, she hadn’t noticed him before he spoke. “You know it is rude to sneak up on people right?” she remarked, failing to keep back a smile. He looked at her with an expression of pretended dejection. 

A little while later Tauriel found herself actually having a very good time, she even joined in the dancing for a while. She could almost sense the king’s eyes on her as she danced, but she was having too much of a great time to think about it any further. Later their eyes met, and they looked at each other for a while through the crowd. Shortly after the king got up and left the party. It was not uncommon for the king to leave the party early, or leave it from time to time, but Tauriel was convinced that he meant for her to follow him. Her thoughts were confirmed when she arrived at the king’s chambers without seeing a single elf on the way there. 

For a second she contemplated just walking straight inn without even knocking, but she couldn’t get herself to do it, so she knocked. It only took a few seconds before the door opened, gliding soundlessly. Thranduil looked down at her, the corner of his lip pulling up into a crooked smile, “I have been expecting you captain,” he purred. She stepped around him and inn to the room beyond, he pushed the door shut, and it gave a small clatter as it closed. 

He walked towards her, and in an instant his hand was around her waist, and her hand was buried in his silvery locks. Their kiss was long and hungry, his lips were warm and soft upon hers, and her grasp tightened. They were so immersed in what they were doing that they did not hear the soft pull on the door handle before the door silently slid open.  
They did not notice that anyone was there until they heard the shocked utterance “Ada?” They both turned to look into the flabbergasted face of Legolas. All three elves stood like frozen for what seemed like five minutes, but in reality was only about 15 seconds. Then Legolas turned without a word and left. 

Tauriel reached out and wanted to go after him, but Thranduil reached out for her hand. “Leave him, he will keep our secret,” Thranduil murmured as he put his hands around her waist from the back, she stood still and relaxed a little as Thranduil kissed her neck, her cheek, her temple. Before he whispered in her ear, “you scared me so bad yesterday, please be more careful my love.” 

Tauriel stiffened as his words sank in, she subsequently felt an avalanche of anger move within her. “My lord,” she uttered the title like a curse, “if there had been enough guards on duty I would not have had to take that risk. Neither would I if you had agreed to let me take a party out of the woods to rid us of this goblin problem once and for all.” Her eyes glittered hard like emerald, and she could not hold back her anger. 

The argument soon became very heated, it was in fact the worst argument they had ever had. Several elves walking by on their way home heard them yelling at each other, none of them were very surprised by what they heard. The king and captain were known to have fights at seemingly strange times. 

In the end when they were both hoarse they stood for a moment glaring at each other, before she turned to leave. He tried to take hold of her hand to make her stay, but she pushed him away. “Tauriel,” he pleaded, his eyes filled with remorse and despair. She would not listen, and she left him standing there as she went off to go find Legolas.  
Legolas was sitting in an unused stairway, she knew this was where she would find him if he was upset or lost in thought. It had always been their spot, ever since they were children. He heard her coming, and he looked up at her. “Mae govannen, mellon nin,” she tried. “Hello,” he answered absentmindedly. “I am so sorry,” she continued “for what you saw, for all of it.” “I am sorry too,” he answered. 

She looked down, “I know many of the other elves were expecting that you would be the one I would bind myself to, I hope you do not feel like that too. And if you indeed do then I hope you can forgive me.” He looked up at her, “it is nothing like that. We are friends you and I, or even more than friends. But less than family it seems, from what has happened.” The shadow lifted from his face for a second. “And after all I do not expect that I will ever take a wife.”

“I see,” she answered with a slight smile, and she understood clearly what he meant. She gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder, “I’m happy that you feel that way, and I hope that you will find what you are looking for.” His only reply was a smile, and they sat there for a while in silence, taking solace in each other’s company. 

“You know I am very sorry for the things that I did, with your father,” she said after a while. “I know it was wrong, and I have no idea how this all must feel to you. With regards to your mother and everything.” She lifted her eyes to look at him, she was not surprised by what she saw, but its effect on her was quite unexpected. 

She could see the creeping mist of pain slowly clouding up his bright blue eyes. She felt very bad for doing this to her best friend, and she was not sure what she could do to make it easier for him. “You know, I was quite young when my mother faded away and went to rest in the halls of Mandos,” his voice was faint, “but even with the short time we had together I will never forget her, and neither will my Ada. I have no fear that her memory will be spoilt, but it does sadden me that he was untrue to her. The consequences of this are something you will have to face together. I will hold you both blameless for my own sake.”

He paused for a moment, before he continued. “Even though I am unsure how the two of you will solve all the problems in your path, and even though it is a strange thing to think of, my best friend and my father, I will stand by you.” Legolas replied with a faint smile, as he leaned in to give her a hug. 

Tauriel did not care much for hugs, but she felt like it was just what he needed now, so she hugged him back. She was surprised by how nice it felt. “Thank you,” she mumbled into his ear, “but you know that what Thranduil and I did was wrong. The two of us can never be, we all know that.”


	6. Chapter 6

For a couple of weeks Tauriel got away with avoiding the king, she sent others to do the reports for her, and no one questioned it. She went about her days, working and keeping herself busy, trying not to let her thoughts wander. She was still angry with Thranduil for not heeding her advice, and for not taking any action. She tried to forget that anything had ever happened between herself and him, it was best that way. 

During the days it was quite easy not to think about him, she even did well in the evenings, keeping her mind occupied with other things. Some nights though, she would wake up yearning for his touch. On those nights she would go walking, but never again did she go down to the rock pools. 

Then the day came when she was called for in particular, and she at last had to face the king again. She entered the throne room, head held high, determined. She would be dutiful, and nothing more. “My lord,” she knelt before him. “Captain,” his face did not betray any of his feelings. He proceeded to dismiss everyone in the room but her, her heart sank. She should have known that it wouldn’t be as easy as she had wished it would. 

“You have been absent from reporting for a long time Tauriel, what is your explanation?” his voice was calm and quiet, but she could hear that there was something more behind. Of course there was something more behind. They had not seen each other at all since the last big fight. 

“I have been busy,” she replied, “and I was not aware that I needed to have an excuse for sending someone else in my stead.” Her voice was clear and steady, even though her heart was thumping. She looked up at him with defiance, awaiting his response. 

“We both know that that is not the whole truth,” he uttered, with a look of disappointment. She would not let him sway her, “I see no need to report to you in person when you disregard all my concerns anyhow.” Her voice was cold. “Is that not a little harsh?” He asked, his face still serene and enigmatic, but the expression seemed to be crumbling somewhat. 

“I do not believe it is,” her reply came quick this time, her blood was starting to heat up. “Captain,” he interrupted her before she could say anything more. “I am planning an offensive, perhaps not in the manner that you would wish, but action will be taken.”

That left Tauriel baffled, she had genuinely never thought that Thranduil would ever back down on the subject. Still, here he was to her surprise, offering a compromise. “I thank you for your consideration, and I believe that you are making a good choice, my lord.”

“Tauriel, why are you so cold?” He asked, “I thought this was what you wanted?” “It is,” she answered with a small smile.

Thranduil came down from his throne, he put his hand on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. His touch felt like little electrical impulses, and all she wanted to do was give in and be with him. He rested his forehead on hers, and they stood like that, eyes closed for a while. Tauriel could feel her resolve weakening. He leaned down to kiss her, she leaned in. Their faces were so close that she could feel his soft breath on her skin, then she turned away. 

Thranduil backed off a little. His eyebrows pulling together, and his mouth slightly ajar in confusion. Their eyes met, he tried to hold her gaze, looking for answers, but she looked down. “Thranduil,” the words almost stuck in her throat, “we can’t do this, you know we can’t.”

“No matter how good it feels, it is still not right.” She could feel goose bumps on her skin, even though the room was warm. “I understand,” his voice was faint, his head gently bowed. “It’s about her?” “You know it is,” she replied and took his hand, “you know our kind only get to choose one mate in their lifetime. I will not make you be untrue to her. As much as I wish we could be together, there is nothing we can do.” 

“Tauriel please,” he lifted his other hand and pushed a stray lock of hair from her face. “There is something we need to talk about.” His last plea sounded breathless, like all the air had left his lungs. “I am sorry my love,” she looked into his eyes. Somehow she managed to keep her voice even and determined, even though she was barely keeping it together. 

She felt a tightness in her chest as she kissed him, knowing that it would be the last kiss. When she pulled back she saw the same realisation in his face, she turned her eyes to the floor. “There is nothing more to say now, unless it is of a professional character.” With that she let go of his hand, turned around and left the throne room.

The next day when she came back to her quarters after finishing her duties, Tauriel discovered something outside her door. It was a letter, and a small leather-bound book. The letter had the king’s seal on it, Tauriel found it intriguing, and wondered what it might contain. She thought she had been clear the day before about everything, so she had difficulty understanding why he would send her a book.

She brought both the letter and book in with her. The first thing she did was open the letter, the silver wax crackling as she slid a thin knife in the slit of the letter to open it. The letter only contained a single sentence; “please read this.” The signature at the bottom read simply “your Thranduil.” 

She felt inclined to figure out what the king wanted her to do with the book, and so she gently opened the fragile volume. The title page read: Of the house of Finwë. Tauriel was now more confused than what she had been before, Thranduil wanted to give her a history lesson? The allure of the old book was too strong though, and before long she found herself riveted with it.

She found a nice comfortable place in one of the corners of her main room, there was a small bench and some pillows. She did not leave this corner until she had finished the book. She now understood what it was that Thranduil was trying to tell her.

Finwë, the lore told, was an elf, a high king of the noldor. Finwë was also the only elf Tauriel had ever heard of that had taken a second wife after his first wife had gone to the halls of Mandos. There was little record of how he had in fact gone about this. Tauriel was not even sure how something like that could possibly apply to what was going on between her and Thranduil. 

The book had given her quite a lot to think about, and so she decided to go for a walk. She put the book on a table, she did not notice the small piece of parchment as it fell out of the book. And so it took longer than Thranduil had planned for, before she saw the final explanation: “she let me go.”


	7. Epilogue

The girl had her father’s tall stature and blonde hair, but she also had the softer look of the woodland elves about her. 

The boy looked nothing like his older sister and half-brother. Where Legolas and the girl were tall and blonde, he was shorter and red-haired like his mother. The brothers both shared an adventurous disposition though, and the lively boy had already gotten himself into a lot of trouble, even though he was still quite new to the world. 

Tauriel spent hours teaching the children archery, and knowledge about plants and trees in the forest. Thranduil would tell them stories about the world and the ages before. Even so, he would never mention the last days of Oropher, or the last alliance. The memories still hurt him too much, and sometimes he would go wandering down to the rock pools. Tauriel would find him there, and they would stand there, silent. Their arms wrapped around each other until the darkness passed. 

The road to where they were now had not been easy. The people had accepted their marriage after a while. However, it had taken a lot longer before the guard had accepted Tauriel as both their queen, and captain. They had eventually realised that it was in fact an advantage to all parties. 

When the girl was born and for some time after, Thranduil had been very weary that something might happen to Tauriel. But as the time went by and he saw that her strength was unwavering he started to take much delight in their little family. After the birth of the boy, Tauriel and Thranduil decided that their family was complete. 

Legolas no longer lived in the woodland realm, he had left to live the life of an adventurer some years past. Before he left, he renounced his place in the line for the throne. This meant that if Thranduil and Tauriel would ever need a successor before the time of the elves was over, the throne would pass to the girl. 

This early summer day, they were all outside in a clearing in the forest. The children were running around with their wooden swords, and Tauriel and Thranduil were lounging around on the grass watching them play. 

Too soon the sun reached its peak, and the time neared when Tauriel’s watch was beginning. She called the children over and gave them both a kiss on the forehead, “nana has to go now, please be good little elflings while I’m gone.” “Yes nana,” they replied in unison before they ran back to pick up their swords and resume their play. 

Thranduil put his arms around her waist “please stay a little longer,” she gave him a resigned look. “If anyone complains you can just say that you were under the king’s command,” he continued. “My love,” she replied, “you know I have to go, it is my duty to the elves of the guard.” She leaned in and kissed him, soft and sweet, before she got up. As she was walking towards the halls, she turned and looked back one last time. She saw the children running about, and Thranduil lovingly watching over them. She walked on, with a smile playing on her lips


End file.
